October 24
1900s-1960s *1908 - Baseball's anthem, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, is introduced by singer Billy Murray. The song writing team of Albert Von Tilzer (music) and Jack Norworth (words) who created the immortal tune have never seen a game. *1911 - The World Series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics was resumed after six days of rain, and Chief Bender beat Christy Mathewson, 4–2, to give the Athletics a 3-1 lead. *1939 - Joe DiMaggio is named American League MVP, with Jimmie Foxx the runner-up. *1951 - Larry MacPhail suggests there should be four new major leagues including one located on the West Coast. *1956 - The Associated Press names Cincinnati Reds manager Birdie Tebbets as its National League Manager of the Year. *1963 - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax is the unanimous winner of the Cy Young Award. 1970s-1980s *1972 - Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson dies of heart disease at age 53. Robinson had become the first black major league player of the 20th century with the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers. *1981 - The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to beat the New York Yankees, 8–7, in a sloppy three-hour marathon and tied the World Series 2-2. The Yankees blew a 6–3 lead. On one play, Reggie Jackson lost the ball in the sun and it bounced off his shoulder for a two-base error. *1985 - Danny Jackson's five-hitter cut St. Louis' lead to 3-2 in the World Series as the Royals took Game Five, 6–1. Willie Wilson's two-run triple highlighted a three-run second inning and chased Royals starter Ken Forsch. *1986 - Bill Russell, at age 38, announces his retirement. He is the last member of the Dodgers' Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey 1970s infield and is second on the club's all-time list with 2,183 games played. *1987 - Kent Hrbek's grand slam highlighted a 15-hit barrage as the Minnesota Twins pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 11–5 at the Metrodome to force the World Series to a seventh game. 1990s *1991 - The Atlanta Braves take the lead in the World Series with a 14–5 rout of the Minnesota Twins. Atlanta blows open a 5-3 game with nine runs in the last two innings. *1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays took MLB championship outside the United States for the first time ever, beating the Atlanta Braves 4–3 in 11 innings in Game Six of the World Series . *1993 - Joe Carter became just the second player in major league history to end a World Series with a home run, hitting a three-run shot off Mitch Williams in the ninth inning that gave the Toronto Blue Jays their second straight championship with an 8–6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Six. *1994 - Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves became the first pitcher in major league history to win three straight Cy Young Awards, unanimously sweeping the National League honor. Maddux posted a 16-6 record with a 1.56 ERA, the third-lowest in 75 years. *1995 - Eddie Murray singles home pinch-runner Alvaro Espinoza in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Cleveland Indians their first win in a World Series in 47 years. The Tribe's 7–6 victory over the Atlanta Braves fittingly occurs in the first-ever Series game at Jacobs Field. *1996 - The New York Yankees lay claim to the last game played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Yankees, who finish the postseason with an 8-0 road record, are helped by poor Atlanta outfield defense and some great plays from their own outfielders as pitcher Andy Pettitte outduels John Smoltz, 1–0, in Game Five of the World Series. 2000s *2000: **Pitcher Orlando Hernández, with an 8-0 record with a 1.90 ERA in his postseason career, losses his first postseason game as the Mets defeat the Yankees, 4–2, on a tie breaking eight inning double by Benny Agbayani. New York native John Franco gets the win, ending the Yankees' record 14-game World Series winning streak. **New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens is fined a reported $50,000 for throwing the jagged barrel of a shattered bat in the direction of Mets catcher Mike Piazza in Game Two of the World Series. *2004 - At Fenway Park, Curt Schilling became the first starting pitcher to win a World Series game for three different teams. In addition to his Game Three Red Sox 6–2 victory over the Cardinals today, his 8-2 lifetime post-season record includes wins for the Phillies (1993) and Diamondbacks (2002). Births *1857 - Ned Williamson, infielder (d. 1894) *1900 - Ossie Bluege, All-Star infielder (d. 1985) *1905 - Jack Russell, All-Star pitcher (d. 1990) *1950 - Rawly Eastwick, pitcher *1952 - Omar Moreno, outfielder *1957 - Ron Gardenhire, player and manager *1959 - Junior Ortiz, catcher *1962 - Gene Larkin, infielder *1969 - Arthur Rhodes, pitcher *1973 - Mike Matthews, pitcher *1974 - Wilton Guerrero, infielder *1977 - Rafael Furcal, All-Star infielder *1978 - Chris Bootcheck, pitcher *1981 - Omar Quintanilla, pitcher *1982 - Macay McBride, pitcher Deaths *1972 - Jackie Robinson, Hall of Fame infielder (b. 1919) *1973 - Al Brazle, pitcher (b. 1913)